Media reports say Amazon is using Anthropic’s Claude AI model to power a new version of its Alexa voice assistant.

The new version of the mentioned product from the e-commerce giant, which is also a significant player in the technology industry, is called Remarkable. Media reports say the updated voice assistant will be presented in October. This product will use generative artificial intelligence to answer complex queries.

The media also reports that the e-commerce giant plans to charge a monthly fee for access to the new version of the voice assistant. The corresponding amount is expected to vary between $5 and $10. At the same time, the e-commerce giant will continue to provide free access to the classic version of the voice assistant.

The collaboration with Anthropic is notable, since Amazon, as part of standard practice, relies on its own technologies to control user experience, data collection, and customer relationships. The media reported that the decision to collaborate was made after initial modifications of Remarkable Alexa, using in-house software, demonstrated poor performance in responding to queries.

The paid version of the voice assistant is expected to contain advanced features, including carrying on conversations that build on prior questions and answers. This configuration of Alexa will also provide shopping advice, aggregate news stories, and fulfill more complex requests, such as ordering food or drafting emails.

Amazon does not publish information about the number of users of its voice assistant. At the same time, Bank of America analyst Justin Post suggests that the corresponding figure is about 100 million people.

As we have reported earlier, Amazon Launches New Version of Its AI Image Generator.